


Heartbeats on the Airwaves

by ConsultingUnderGroundRainbow



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Murder, Bad Things Happen To Cecil Palmer, Doctor! Rochelle, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, Lauren is Cecil's boss, Lauren is a bitch, M/M, Not set in Night Vale, bad things happen to kevin, barista! Earl, comatose Cecil, doctor! carlos, will update tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2020-04-05 19:43:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19047094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConsultingUnderGroundRainbow/pseuds/ConsultingUnderGroundRainbow
Summary: An accidental meeting.A blossomed love.A jealous boss.Cecil Palmer isn't going to let attempted murder keep him from being happy.(Cross posted on tumblr @itscecilpalmerbitches)





	1. Chapter 1

Cecil loved his job. He loved being part of the community and knowing basically everyone. He made friends easily, so everyone knew him. He had gotten his internship at the local news station when he was fifteen and later was accepted into Emerson College on a full scholarship. He graduated second in his class but missed home. So, he went back home. He got a job as a news anchor and started to do what he loved.

Reporting was something that Cecil was meant to do. He could feel it in his bones.

About a year into working at the station, they got a new manager. Her name was Lauren. She had short brown hair and cold eyes. Cecil had a feeling he’d seen her somewhere before but couldn’t quite place it. He just shrugged and moved forward to greet her.

“Welcome Ms. Mallard.” He smiles, offering a hand.

She glares at him and Cecil takes a step back in shock, lowering his hand.

“Cecil Palmer.” She says. Her voice had a lilt to it but it was cold as ice. “Emerson College, class of 2016.”

Cecil blinks in confusion and tilts his head. “Were we classmates?”  

“I was first in our class. You.” She jabs her finger at him. “You broke my heart.” She says coldly.

Cecil furrows his brows before realization dawned over him. “Oh…. _Oh.”_

Lauren had asked him out junior year. He had explained that he was not attracted to women and she hadn’t spoken to him since.

“Lauren….I’m sorry that I made you hurt, but I don’t feel that way about you. I’m gay.”

She cuts her eyes at him and turns on her heel. “Watch yourself Palmer.”

Cecil stared after her, helpless and even more confused.

\-----.-----

Carlos loved the rush of saving lives. The feeling of when a person starts to breath again after CPR. The feeling of a successful surgery. The feeling of his head finally hitting the pillow after a long and successful shift.

But with the good came the bad. People dying came with the job. The first person Carlos lost was an eighteen year old girl who died during child birth. Her name was Crystal Storm. Carlos then took it upon himself to push harder. To work harder. To save more lives. For her. For Crystal.

Working harder is exactly what he did. It took almost ten years, but Carlos earned himself the position of Chief of Surgery at Mercy Eastern Hospital. It took a lot of work but he was proud of it. He also started the Crystal Storm Foundation to help young mothers and their families get the care they needed.

 

The café down the road from the Hospital was Carlos’ favorite. It was small, but homely. Plus it always smelled amazing.

When he pushed open that door, he was greeted by a chorus of

“Hey Doc!” from the baristas.

Carlos laughs and waves to them. He side-steps a couple making their way out and crashed into someone else. He stumbles back, coffee spilled down the front of his dark green scrubs and white lab coat. Luckily the coffee was iced and not hot.

Carlos looks up to see a frazzled man in a purple dress shirt and a very red face staring at him.

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going and now your coat is dirty and-“

Carlos gives a bemused laugh in response to the man’s rambling. The man had a nice voice. Carlos takes a step back to look the man over. He was taller than Carlos himself, with blonde hair and big, deep blue-almost purple- eyes were framed behind purple glasses. He was attractive. He also looked very familiar.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve had worse things on my clothes. It’s a good thing you drink cold coffee.”

The man opens his mouth, and then closes it again, the blush spreading down his neck.

“Let me pay for your coffee?”

“Oh you don’t have to do the-“

“Please?” The man asked, begging with his eyes. “I really don’t want to go back to work yet.”

The words seemed to have a hidden meaning, but Carlos didn’t want to press.

“Alright. Under one condition.”

“What is it?”

“That you’ll stay and drink it with me.” Carlos smiles. Then “I mean drink your own coffee. Or not. Not drink after me, I mean. That isn’t sanatory.”

The man laughs, seeming to relax. “Yeah. I’d like that.” He leans down and picks up the spilled coffee cup. He disposes of it and turns back to Carlos. “Shall we?”

Carlos nods and follows him to the bar.

“Spilled your coffee Cecil?” The barista, his name tag said Earl, asked.

“It’s not like I did it on purpose.” The man-Cecil- mumbles. “Can I get another one please? And whatever he wants.” He gestures at Carlos.

Earl nods and starts to make the coffees. Carlos turns to Cecil.

“Cecil? As in Cecil Palmer?”

“That’s been my name since birth.” Cecil smiles.

“That’s where I recognize you from! I’ve been trying to figure it out this whole time.” Carlos says sheepishly.

“What’s your name then?”

“My name is Carlos Mendez.”

“And you’re a doctor.”

“Yes. I am.”

“Order up!” Earl calls.

They take their coffees and find a seat from a window.

“So, is there a reason you’re avoiding work?” Carlos asked before he could stop himself. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” He adds quickly.

Cecil takes a drink and makes a humming noise. He had whipped cream on the end of his nose that Carlos was tempted to reach up and while off.

“My boss hates me.”

“Oh?”

“Mhm.”

“Like actually hates you or is just a hard ass?”

“She asked me out when we were in college and I turned her down because I’m gay.”

“Oh.” Carlos says, rather dumbly.

“Mhm.” Cecil says again. “But she can’t fire me on the bases that I won’t go out with her, so she’s making my life hell.”

“Why not quit?”

“Because if I do, she’d ruin my career. I love what I do. Just not….her.” He shrugs and sits the cup down.

“Well she sounds terrible.”

“She is.”

Carlos chuckles. “Well I think you’re great. Don’t let her get you down.”

And in that very moment, Carlos Mendez started to fall in love.


	2. Chapter 2

Cecil hummed to himself as he got ready for work. He decided to wear red today, and no tie. He pulls out a pair of black slacks and a crimson dress shirt and laid them on the bed. He bounces on the balls of his feet, singing to himself and to his cat, Khoshekh,, who sat on the bed, watching him.

“Look! How the lights of the town, the lights of the town are shining now.

Tonight, I’ll be dancing around, I’m off on the road to Galway now.” He half mumbled, half hummed the next few lines as he sheds his pajamas. He pulls on his undershirt and leans over the bed. “Khoshekh, do you ever get a weird feeling in your gut? Not like nerves. I don’t get nervous. I’m a reporter. But maybe kinda tingly? Some people call it butterflies.” He muses, reaching out and scratching the cat’s ears. “Oh what do you know? You’re just a kitty. Kitties don’t have to worry about the matters of the heart. You’re lucky that way.”

He stands and pulls on his dress shirt, buttoning it and sliding his slacks on before reaching for his shoes. “Like how you don’t have to deal will crazy bosses. But also you don’t get to talk to cute boys. Cute doctors.” Cecil gives a small smile. “Maybe you can meet him someday.” He pauses. “I bet he has a girlfriend. He’s to pretty to not.”

Cecil runs a hand through his hair. “Either way I hope qe can be friends.”

Khoshekh gives a ‘murrow' and rolls onto his back.

“I know. I know. I’m probably over thinking again. I do that a lot. I need to work on that.”

Sliding his shoes on, he looks over. “You’re in charge. Behave.”

 Khoshekh flicks his tail. It was a mutual agreement between the two.

-

Cecil looks up from the article he was reading as Lauren clicks into the room. He braces himself for what was about to crash down over his head. She stands in the middle of the room, a group of interns trailing behind her. Cecil inches forward, curious.

“We are starting a new term of internships.” Lauren announces. “All of you are assigned an intern. You are fully responsible for this intern. You will teach them how we work here and what is expected.”

Cecil perks up a little. He had never had an intern before so this was exciting.

Lauren approaches him last with a dark-skinned girl with curly hair pulled up into a pony tail.

“This one is yours. Try not to screw it up.”

“I’ll do my best Ms. Mallard.” Cecil answers with practiced patience.

“We’ll see.” And with that, she sauntered away.

The intern looks at him. “She really doesn’t like you, huh?”

Cecil sighs. “No she does not.” He turns and gives her a smile. “What’s your name?”

“Dana. Dana Cardinal. And you are?”

“My name is Cecil. Palmer. Nice to meet you. Do you want to go get some coffee?” He offers.

“Don’t they have coffee here?”

“They do but it’s horrible. Come on. I know a place.”

Cecil turns towards the door and waits as Dana follows.

“So are you gonna tell me why she hates you so much? Is it because you have a better taste in clothes or something?”

Cecil laughs as they started down the block. “Oh no. We went to college together.” He starts.

“Did you do better than her or something?”

“No. She was first in class.”

“Of course she was.”

“She asked me out junior year-“

“And you said no because you’re gay as hell?”

“Am I really that obvious?” Cecil asked with a light blush.

“Well you aren’t exactly subtle.”

Cecil opens his mouth to protest, but instead smiles. “It isn’t like I’m trying.”

“So she’s a bitch to you because you don’t have feelings for her?”

“Yep.” He opens the door to the small café. “After you.”

“That is terrible.”

“Oh, you learn to tune her out. It’s alright.”

“If you say so.”

“I do say so.” Cecil grins as he makes his way to the counter.

“Cecil!” Earl greets. “Got a new person to spill coffee on today?”

“That was two weeks ago. Must you keep bringing it up?” Cecil wines.

“Yes, because it was funny.”

“What happened?” Dana asked, a smirk crossing her face.

“Cecil here, being as suave as he is, spilled his coffee all over the head surgeon of Mercy Eastern.”

 Dana gasped and laughed. “You didn’t!”

Cecil groans and buries his face in his hands. “Stoooppp.”

“In his defense, the coffee was cold so I was fine.” A caramel voice says from behind them.

Cecil jumps and turns around so fast that he slips and knocks his head against the counter.

“Cecil!”

\-----.-----

Carlos wakes up to his alarm blaring. He groans and slaps it off before sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He reaches for his glasses and puts them on, blinking the sleep from his eyes. He stretches before rolling off the bed and standing. He stretches again and pops his back.

“Mmm~”

After shaking out, he approaches his closet and opens it, digging through the flannels and grabbing his favorite red one. It was soft and had a small hole in the elbow, but that didn’t matter because he was changing as soon as he got to the hospital. He was half hoping to see Cecil again. He also knew that Cecil was a newscaster so the possibility of him revisiting the same coffee shop twice was unlikely. Either way, a man could dream right?

Pulling the shirt on, along with a pair of jeans and his shoes. Lastly he grabs his jacket and leaves, locking the door on his way out. He looks at his watch and noticed he was early so he decided to get coffee before rounds instead of after.

The drive to the coffee shop gave Carlos time to think. There was no way he could admit his feelings for Cecil. He could get labeled a creepy fanboy. He sighs as he parks. Getting out, he makes his way inside. He is shocked to see Cecil there, and spots the familiar blush on the man’s neck. He couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face. Then he spots the girl next to Cecil. She was pretty. And standing close to him. Did he have a girlfriend? But he said he was gay. But what if that girl was actually a trans man? Or maybe he was just looking to much into it-

Carlos finds himself approaching the counter in time to hear Earl recounting his and Cecil’s unfortunate meeting.

“In his defense, the coffee was cold so I wad fine.” Carlos chuckles.

Cecil gives a squeak and turns, tripping and knocking his head against the counter.

“Cecil!” Carlos gasped, crouching down. “Are you alright?” His fingers automatically jumped to the man’s hairline to check for injuries. Dear god what shampoo did he use? His hair was so soft!

“M fine.” Cecil says, wrapping his slender fingers around Carlos’ wrist. “I’m a klutz. Nothing new.”

“Could I still get you checked for a concussion? Just to be safe?” he paused. “ Your girlfriend can come to.”

He didn’t mean to word it that way but it just slipped. Beside him, the girl snorts.

“No offense Cecil but my girlfriend is hotter than you.”

Cecil just laughs. “I’m sure she is Dana.”

 The girl-Dana- elbows Carlos and whispers “He's single yknow.”

“Uh…thanks.” Carlos prayed he wasn’t blushing as hard as he felt he was. He stands and offers his hand, pulling Cecil up.

“Dana’s my new intern.” Cecil exains.

“And Dana is a happily engaged lesbian.” Dana adds.

Carlos groans. He was never going to hear the end of this.

“Lets get you check out and then you can be on your way.”


	3. Chapter 3

Cecil hardly saw Carlos as time went on. Cecil was always on the go and Carlos had lives to save. They saw each other maybe once a week at the coffee shop but didn’t have time to do more than to exchange hellos. Some weeks they didn’t see each other at all. It made Cecil a bit disappointed, but he did understand.  Being a doctor was an important and-Cecil assumed- very stressful job.

Lauren sent Cecil all over the city to report on all kinds of things from a crime scene to an active school shooting. He was almost never given the chance to report on anything happy and it was really taking a toll on him.

 

Dana notices fairly quickly and slowly starts to be fed up with Lauren’s B.S. and decided she wanted to help. She knew exactly what to do. She bid Cecil good night and drove over to Mercy Eastern. She strolls up to the counter and the nurse sitting there looks up. She has soft blue eyes and dark red hair.

“Can I help you?”

“My name is Dana Cardinal. I was wondering if you could page Dr. Carlos Mendez for me? Tell him it’s Cecil’s girlfriend.”

The nurse gives an amused look and picks up the phone.

“Dr. Mendez? This is Marrazzo at the front desk. I have a Dana Cardinal here asking for you. She says she’s Cecil’s girlfriend.”

There is a loud groan then laughter from the other end of the phone before Carlos spoke again.

The nurse nods. “Alright sir. Will do.” She hangs up. “Go ahead and head up to his office. It’s on the third floor. Big room. Can’t miss it.”

Dana nods and thanks her before turning and finding the elevator nearby. The elevator was empty, which was a good thing because she didn’t want to talk to a bunch of strangers because he mind was super busy. Finally, the elevator slid to a stop and the doors opened. She stepped out onto the floor and looks around. The nurse was right. Carlos’ office was in the middle of the floor. She makes her way over and knocks twice. There was a shuffling sound and a muffled yelp before the door opened.

“Dana.” Carlos smiles. “To what do I owe the pleasure? Come on in.”

He opens the door wider and heads back to his desk. Dana looks around.

“Did you trip on the way to the door?”

“Nooo.” Carlos looks away, face flushed. “You going to let me live down calling you Cecil’s girlfriend?”

“Mmmmm…. Not likely.”

Carlos sighs and sits back down. “How can I help you?”

“Cecil.”

“What about him?” Carlos leans forward a little, his chin resting on his palm.

“Oh my god you’re just as dopey as he is!”

“Did you come here to make fun of me or?” Carlos asked in mock annoyance.

“Lauren is running him into the ground. She keeps sending him to report on depressing things and in dangerous areas. It’s really taking a toll on him and I’m worried.”

“How can I help?” Carlos is sitting up straight now, attentive.

“I was hoping we could find something happy for him to report on.”

Carlos nods slowly. “I know exactly what to get him to report on.”

“Are you going to tell me or?”

“You know the Crystal Storm Foundation for young mothers?”

“Yeah. You started it like, years ago.”

Carlos nods. “It isn’t known to the public yet but I’m going to be adding paternity classes and sex ed. To the program. And I want to open it to surrogates who would like to help families who cannot produce children on their own.”

“That’s amazing” Dana breathes softly.  “He’s going to love it.”

“Do you think Lauren will actually let him report it though and not send someone else?”

“She will if you ask specially for him. She’d have to or risk losing the story to another station.”

Carlos nods. “That’s a good point.”

Dana nods and crosses her legs. “So, when are you going to ask him out?”

Carlos blanches and looks at her with a flushed face. “Excuse me?”

“Oh please. You do realize that I’m a reporter in training. It’s my job to notice things. That’s what Cecil says.”

Carlos laughs softly. “Yeah that seems like something he would say.”

“So?”

Carlos rubs the back of his head. “I don’t if it’s a good idea. I mean he’s beautiful and funny and- “

“Oh please.” Dana rolls her eyes. “You are so far gone, we can’t even see you anymore.”

Carlos sighs. “That obvious huh?”

“You want my advice?”

“I have a feeling I’m going to hear it no matter what I say.”

“Smart man.” Dana grins. Then she turns serious. “Just be honest with him. Speak from the heart and tell him the truth. He doesn’t care if you’re bad at words or whatever.” She pauses. “He literally spent an hour talking about your hair this morning. If it wasn’t so adorable, I would have told him to shut up.”

Carlos brings his hand up and runs it through his hair. “What’s so special about my hair?”

“I have no clue. Personally, I think you need to make friends with a brush.” Dana says bluntly.

“Trust me. Brushes make it worse.”

“Okay fair enough. Just. When he comes tomorrow- _after_ the interview is over- tell him how you feel. Or at the very least ask him out. The only reason he truly smiles anymore off the air is when I make stupid jokes or at his cat.”

“I suspect now is when you threaten me to not hurt him?” Carlos raises an eyebrow.

“Well, not exactly. But you should know that my wife works for the FBI.”

Carlos puts his hands up. “I will keep that in mind.”

Dana grins again. “Great. Now, I have a call to make and so do you.” She stands. “I owe you one. Thank you, Carlos.”

“Have a good night, Dana.”

Dana waves before letting herself out and leaving the hospital before pulling out her phone and calling Cecil. Cecil picked up on the first ring.

_“Dana?”_

“Hey Cecil. Are you busy?”

_“No. Not at all-Khoshekh stop trying to eat the plastic-one moment.”_

There was a muffled _Thump!_ And Cecil gives a noise of success before coming back to the phone, sounding breathless.

_“What’s up?”_

“You owe me brownies Mr. Palmer, because you will not believe the story, I just got for you.”

\-----.-----

Carlos watches Dana leave and sighs a little, reaching for his office phone. He does a quick google search and calls the number that pops up. It rings twice before a woman answer.

_“Channel 42 News. This is Lauren Mallard speaking. How may I help you?”_

Carlos shudders at her voice and clears his throat.

“Hello Lauren.” He says politely. “My name is Dr. Carlos Mendez. I’m calling to request an interview with one of your reporters. Tomorrow if possible.”

_“Of course! I’ll send over my best- “_

“I want Cecil Palmer.” Carlos interrupts and bites his lip. “Please.”

There is dead air for a moment. Then;

_“Are you sure you want_ him _? I can send you someone better- “_

“Either you send me him or I give the story to Channel 13.” Carlos says bluntly, holding his breath.

There’s more dead air and then,

_“Fine.”_ She says sharply. _“I’ll send him at 9:30. This better be worth my time, Mr. Mendez.”_

“ _Doctor_ Mendez.” Carlos corrects. “And It will be. Trust me. Now, have a nice night Ms. Mallard.”

\-----.-----

Cecil was greeted by Dana with his usual coffee from Earl’s shop the next morning.

“Ya ready?” She asked with a beaming smile.

Cecil nods with a matching smile. “I am. I just need to check a few things and then we can head out.”

\-----.-----

Carlos was nervous. He was going to see Cecil. He was going to ask Cecil out today. What if Cecil said no? But who rejects someone whose hair they talk about for an hour? He sighs and steps out of the elevator and heads to his office to wait.

The hospital got the call at nine o’clock on the dot. A bus had run into a cafe, injuring a lot of people. At least fifty. It was an all hands call. Carlos, being chief of surgery, gathered his people in the lobby.

“Okay!” He calls. “When we first get there, tag all the people with lesser injuries that can move on their own. Help those who cannot be mover first. The elderly and children are top priorities. Got it?”

There was scattered noises of agreement and they headed out.

—–.—–

“Ceeeeeecillllll~”

Cecil cringes as that voice cuts across the main room of the news station. He forces himself to smile as he turns around, his grip on his coffee tightening.

“Ms. Mallard.” He says icily. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” And by pleasure, he meant ‘never ending hell’ but who’s keeping score?

“There was a wreck today that I want you to go cover. Someone hijacked a bus. I heard there was a gun involved.” She says gleefully.

Cecil bites his lip and sets the cup on his desk with a shaking hand.

“But I have a meeting this morn- “

“This is more important.” Lauren cuts him off.

“Is it safe?” He asked carefully. He should have known better than to get his hopes up.

“Sure, if you don’t run your mouth.” Lauren replied cheerfully. “Besides, if you want to keep your job, you don’t have a choice. T

he only reason you’re still working here is because people like you. Middle aged women need something to fantasize about. But refuse to do what you’re told, and I will not hesitate to drag your name through the mud. You’ll never work in this town again.”

Cecil flinches and bites back a retort.

“I’m on my way.” He says softly, grabbing his jacket and recorder. He makes his way out to his car and tosses everything in, leaning his head against the steering wheel and letting out a loud groan of frustration, before starting the car and pulling out.

 

—–.—–

 

Carlos crouches over a man with a dislocated shoulder.

“We’re going to get you fixed up alright?”

The man gives a pained noise but nods.

“Need some help?” A voice asked from above Carlos, making his stomach drop.

_No no no. He cannot be here! It’s not safe!_

But when help is offered…….

“Hold him steady so I can pop this back into place.”

He watches Cecil drop to the ground gracefully and puts his hands on the man’s chest and looks up for confirmation. Carlos narrows his eyes in concentration.

“This is going to hurt.” He was in, picking up the injured arm and with a jerk, snaps it back into place.

The man gives a cry of pain and swears loudly, making Cecil jump back.

“We’ll get you a sling and transported as soon as possible. Just lay still.”

The man nods and mumbles out a thanks as Carlos pulls Cecil up off the ground. When they were a little way away;

“Cecil what the hell are you doing here?” He demands.

Cecil gives Carlos a tired look. “Take a guess.”

“You do know that there’s an active shooter, right?”

“I do. And so, does she.”

“And she still sent you?”

“Part of me thinks that’s why she sent me.”

Carlos tightens his jaw. “Why do you even still work for her? She’s going to get you killed!”

“Carlos.” Cecil says softly. “Please don’t yell.”

“Cecil-” Carlos sight a little. “I’m sorry. I’m just concerned for your wellbeing.”

Cecil blushes cutely. “Thank you. It’s a nice change.”

“I can’t exactly ask-” Carlos is cut off by Cecil stopping and giving a grunt of surprise.

“Carlos?” He asks, his hands going to his stomach. He looks up with wide eyes.

“Cecil? What-”

Cecil stumbles before falling. Carlos catches him and slowly lowers him to the ground, on his back. He starts to unbutton the reporter’s vest, but his fingers were shaking so much that he gives a growl and rips it open, seeing red spreading across the white dress shirt


	4. Chapter 4

Carlos cursed under his breath in Spanish and pulls open Cecil’s shirt to find a thin t-shirt under the dress shirt.

“Damnit Cecil. Why do you wear so much clothing?” He asked. If the situation was different, he would have been amused at himself.

“Yknow,” Cecil says weakly. “If I wasn’t dying, I’d find you ripping my clothes off sexy.”

Carlos looks up at him, fighting back tears. “No. You aren’t dying. Not today.” He says, putting pressure on the still bleeding wound.

“Carlos…” Cecil protests, trying to lift his hands to bat Carlos away. He failed and his arms fell to the ground once more. “Other people need your help more than me.”

Blood started to seep through Carlos’ fingers. “No. Not today. I am not letting you die because your idiot boss hates you.”

Cecil gasps again, this time in pain. He closes his eyes, coughing, but Carlos smacks his cheeks.

“No. Keep your eyes open. Cecil, stay with me. Come on now.”

Cecil opens his eyes a little. “It hurts.” He whispers.

“I know. But pain means you aren’t dead yet.” Carlos tries to reason with him. He turns away and digs in his bag to gauze. He turned back to Cecil, who had his eyes closed again. He was pale-paler than usual- and his lips had a blue color to them.

“Damnit Cecil!” Carlos smack his cheek again. “Stay awake. Stay with me. Let me see your beautiful eyes. Please?” He begs. “Let me see.”

Cecil blinks at him, his eyes not as bright as usual, but they were open.

“I need to bandage your stomach, okay?” Carlos asked, holding up the roll of gauze.

“Okay…” Cecil slurs a little. Then he says;

 “Hey Carlos?”

“Yes?”

 “’m cold.”

Carlos stops where he was tugging at Cecil’s shirt.

“Shit. You’re going into shock.” He quickly finishes what he was doing and leans close to Cecil’s face. “Hey. Eyes open. Look at me. Look at m-Cecil? Cecil?” Carlos’s voice breaks. “Cecil!”

He reaches down and feels for a pulse. It was weak and uneven, but still there. His breath was even weaker when Carlos puts his fingers up under Cecil’s nose.

“No! I’m not going to lose you. You don’t get to die. Not today!” He announces, half hysterical. He braces himself up, starting CPR. His arms shook but he refused to stop. He is crying at this point. Loud body wracking sobs. He stops and leans over, pressing his lips to Cecil’s own cold ones. This isn’t what he wanted-not how he pictured their first kiss. He wanted it to be soft and gentle, or a spur of the moment passion, but not like this. Never like this. He pulls away.

“Come on. Come on….”

He presses down again.

“Come on Cecil! Please….” He begs, pressing down again. “Let me hear your voice again…. Please……”

 

By the time the paramedics arrived, Cecil’s breathing had improved a little. Carlos’ hands and cloths were stained with blood that wasn’t his.  Hands grabbed Carlos’, making him look up.

“Let us help him now.”

“If I stop, he’ll die.” Carlos protests.

“We won’t let him.”

“I won’t.” Carlos says, starting compressions again.

“We have to move him Doctor.”

Carlos looks up, hair falling into his face. “I’m coming with you then.” He says, not breaking his rhythm.

“Of course.” The paramedic gestures to the three behind him and together they carefully put Cecil onto the gurney.  Cecil started gasping again and the only thing that Carlos could think to do is to climb up and straddle Cecil’s hips, starting the compressions again.

“Come on Cecil. Don’t let her win. You’re better than that.” He begs softly.

 

The ride to the hospital was fairly short but it felt like hours. When they get to the hospital, Carlos collapsed and falls off of the gurney and into the wall of the ambulance. Cecil is ushered away and straight into surgery. Carlos is vaguely aware of someone helping him up and into the hospital. He’s leads to an on-call room and laid on the bed. Someone tells him to rest and then the room went dark.

 

When Carlos woke up, it was dark outside, but he felt much better. He needed a shower, clean clothes and something to eat. Then his blood ran cold.

_Cecil._

He runs out of the room and sees Dana in the waiting room.

“How is he?” Carlos asked, bracing himself for the worse.

“He’s alive. He’s sleeping right now actually.”

Relief spread through him like fire and he lets out a breath. “Oh, thank god.”

“You saved his life Carlos.” She says, pulling him into a hug.  She then pushes him away. “You smell horrible. Go take a shower.”

“Well I’m sorry that dirt, sweat and blood don’t smell like flowers.” Carlos retorts, but smiles.

Dana rolls her eyes and pulls a bottle of travel size Febreze from her purse, spraying him repeatedly. “Begone demon!”

Carlos puts his hands up in front of his face. “Okay! Okay! I’m going!” He turns to leave, but Dana catches his arm, making him look back.

“Really though. Thank you.”

Carlos gazes at her. “I would rather die than see him hurt.” Was his answer.

She smiles. “I know. Now go shower you nasty.”

—–.—–

Cecil wakes with a splitting headache. He slowly opens his eyes and looks around in confusion. He was in the hospital. The last thing he remembered was seeing and helping Carlos and then…. the pain.  He tried to sit up but that just made the dull sting become a bolt of white-hot pain, so he laid back down and closes his eyes. Lauren is going to have his neck when he got out. That is, if he still had a job when he got out.

A soft knock on the doorframe made him look up. Carlos stood in the doorway. His mess of dark curls was damp and pulls off his face into a low bun. He no longer wore scrubs. Now he worn a red checked flannel and jeans. He looked happy but exhausted.

“Carlos?”

“Hey Ceec.” He says with a small smile. “How do you feel?”

“Like I got hit by a bus.” He says honestly. Then he holds one hand out. “C’mere.” He says softly.

Carlos crosses the room and sits next to the bed, taking Cecil’s outstretched hand.

“I’m sorry I ruined your shirt.”

“Well given the situation, I’m not _that_ upset.”

Carlos chuckles. “So…how much do you remember? About earlier?”

Cecil studied him for a moment. “I don’t think CPR counts as a first kiss.” He said finally.

“Is that so?” Carlos laughs softly.

“I’m a reporter. I know these things.” Cecil says.

“Well, would it be okay for me to kiss you now?”

“I think you have to. To make up for ruining my favorite vest.”

Carlos smiles and leans over the side of the bed. “I’ll fix it myself.” He promises, pressing his lips to Cecil’s. They were warm this time. Of course, the moment was cut short by Cecil’s heart monitor going crazy. Carlos jumps back and their eyes met before they both cracked up.


	5. Chapter 5

Cecil had to stay in the hospital for a week and a half, to make sure the wound healed properly and wasn’t infected. He slept a lot because the exhaustion of his job is finally catching up with his over worked body. Carlos spends a good chunk of his free time in Cecil’s room, making small talk, cuddling and exchanging small kisses.

They shared dinner most nights, unless Carlos got called away. Carlos managed to sneak away and picked up Chinese.  Now, Carlos sat cross legged and barefoot at the foot of Cecil’s bed, listening to Cecil go on about how much he hates his brother-in-law. Carlos smiles a little. This man was an absolute dork, but Carlos was completely smitten. He sets his chopsticks down in the container and then sets it aside, pulling Cecil’s feet into his lap, rubbing small counter-clockwise circles around the ankles. Which were quite boney.

“What are we going to do for our first date?” He asked randomly.

Cecil gives noise that was basically a purr and opens his eyes.

“Nothing to fancy. Because a good time isn’t based on how much money you spend.”

“I could cook for you.” Carlos suggests. “Since your birthday is next week.”

“How did you-oh god. Right there!” Cecil groans as Carlos presses his thumb into the arc of Cecil’s foot.

Carlos chuckles. “I read your chart. I also know you have a wheat allergy. And that your middle name is Gershwin.”

“Now hold on- “Cecil keens again, arching his back a little as Carlos begins to rub the lower part of Cecil’s left leg before switching to the right.

“Hm?”

“You know so much about me and I hardly know anything about you.”

“Well, my middle name is Fernando, my birthday May 20th and I’m allergic to cats. Which I assume you have because the first time we met you ran into me and then I was sneezing like crazy all day.”

Carlos smiles at the memory but Cecil’s face fell.

“Oh.”

“Hey. Don’t worry about it. I take Claritin. Because I can handle it and I would hate to stop seeing you, as we are now dating and all.”

“You’ll have to meet him sometime.”

“What if he hates me?”

“Then it’s not going to work out. I can’t date anyone my cat doesn’t trust.”

Carlos nods. “I can respect that. I hope I’ll make a good impression.”

“I’m sure he’ll love you as much as I do.” Cecil muses before his eyes go wide and one hand clapped over his mouth. “Shit. Sorry. I know it’s still way early and- “He kind of shrinks back a little.

Carlos reaches out, a tad concerned. “Cecil? Are you okay?” He asked softly.

Cecil nods quickly. “I’m alright. Just lost control of my mouth for a moment is all.”

Carlos reaches out and takes his hand, giving a careful and gentle squeeze.

“You meant it?”

Cecil looks up at him. “I do.”

“That’s good. Because I love you too.”

Cecil's mouth dropped open and he was stunned silent. Carlos chuckles again and shifts to his knees, leaning up to kiss Cecil’s lips. Cecil was speechless. Cecil “I talk for a living, so I don’t do shut up” Palmer was silent. It was a bit jarring.

“You’re adorable.” Carlos grins before sitting back down.

“You broke me.”

“I do apologize. But I am a doctor so I’m sure I can fix what I broke.”

“I do believe I’m entitled to compensation.” Cecil gives a small smile.

Carlos raises an eyebrow. “I’m sure we can work something out.”

Before Cecil could answer, Carlos kissed him once more and then kisses his forehead. “Are you wanting to do that interview?”

“I had completely forgotten about it.” Cecil admits. “But sure. Not like I have anything better to do at the moment.”

Carlos opens his mouth to retort but Cecil gives him a look and he shuts his mouth with a laugh.

“You need to behave Dr. Mendez.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about Mr. Palmer.”

“Mhm. Hand me my bag please?”

Carlos gets up and picks up the satchel that Dana had dropped off earlier. Its bag was covered in pins and patches ranging from pride to Star Trek. It was very Cecil. He hands it over and watches as Cecil opens it and digs through files and papers before pulling out a recorder.

“Here we are.” Cecil holds up the silver recorder triumphally.

“Anything else?” Carlos asked as he settles back down at the foot of the bed.

“Nope. Let’s begin.”

Cecil slipped into a professional personality easily, despite being in a hospital gown and hooked to multiple machines.

“I’m here with Mercy Eastern’s Chief of Surgery, Dr. Carlos Mendez. I’ve been told you have big news for the viewers?”

“I do.” Carlos smiles, seeming a bit nervous for some reason.

Cecil reaches over and takes his hand, giving a gentle squeeze.

“What is your news?”

“Originally the Crystal Storm Foundation was for teenage and single mothers to get help so they can get back on their feet, but as of February 13th, this Wednesday, we will be extending our reach to women who cannot conceive and working with surrogates to provide them with the family they cannot produce themselves. We believe everyone deserves a chance to be a family.”  The words seemed to be pouring out now.

Cecil couldn’t help the smile that spreads across his lips. He loved how passionate Carlos seemed when talking about helping others. His eyes light up and hold a love for people.

“We also will be helping children in the system to find forever homes. Everyone should have someone to love them.”

Cecil nods a little, his eyes starting to sting a little. Carlos stopped talking and reaches out for his hand.

“Cecil? Is something wrong?”

“No. No. Nothing is wrong. It’s just…. you are so amazing. I’m so lucky to have met you. I- “He pauses, reaching over to turn off the recorder before continuing. “Carlos, words usually come easily to me. That’s why I do what I do.” He pauses and looks away, only to have Carlos reach over and take his hand.

“But?”

Cecil looks back over. “But you make me speechless. I’m at a loss for words. I don’t know why. I’ve dated before. But this is different. You are different.”

Carlos gazes at him for a moment. “I’m…. I’m amazing because you make me want to be amazing. You have this way of making people want to be better. You inspire me with your raw passion and loyalty to your work.”

Cecil was openly crying now, and Carlos panicked.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry! I’m sorry!”

Cecil gives a watery laugh. “You.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“What about me?”

Cecil tugs on his hand. “Hold me. I’m tired.”

“Yes sir.” Carlos smiles a little and cleans off the bed before getting up.

\-----.-----

The next week went by in a blur and before Carlos knew it, it was Cecil’s birthday.  He wasn’t sure what to get as a gift but suddenly, he just _knew._ He ran out and bought the supplies before hurrying home and getting to work.

The day passed by fairly quickly and soon it was six o’clock. He slides the lasagna into the oven and moved to answer the door. Cecil stands on the other side, wearing what he wore on the news that night, with his hair pulled back into an elegant braid. His glasses slipped down his narrow nose a little and Carlos smiles fondly.

“Hey beautiful. Happy Birthday.” Carlos steps back after pressing a chaste kiss to Cecil’s lips. Cecil follows him to the kitchen.

“I wasn’t sure if you drank red or white, so I brought both.” Cecil says as he sits down the paper bag he was carrying.

“I’m not to picky. Which do you prefer?”

“My favorite is Arbor Mist, the raspberry one but where I went didn’t have any, so I got Pinot Grigio and Rosé.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I’m sure we can make do.” Carlos leans against the counter with an easy smile.

“I have been told I’m pretty easy to satisfy.” Cecil comments.

Carlos raises an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

Cecil’s eyes go wide, and his face, ears and neck flush a bright red as he struggles to answer. Carlos laughs.

“Yknow, you made that exact same face when we first met.”

“Please don’t bring that up. I have to deal with both Dana and Earl teasing me about it.” Cecil wines a little and buries his face in his hands.

Carlos crosses the kitchen pulls him close. “I’m sorry. I can’t help it. You have a cute blush.”

“You are annoying. You know that?” Cecil says, his voice muffled where he tucked his head into the crook of Carlos’ neck.

“You love it.”

“Yeah.” Cecil presses a kiss to Carlos’ neck. “I do.”

Before Carlos could answer, his pager went off in the living room. He tightens his hold on Cecil with a groan. He wasn’t on call tonight!

“Do you need to go?” Cecil asked, pulling away a little.

“I can have someone else get it.”

“What if they need you?”

Carlos rubs a hand over his face. He knew Cecil was right, but he didn’t want to leave. Cecil takes his hand.

“Hey. It’s okay. Go.”

“But- “

“I’m used to spending my birthday alone. We can reschedule.”

The words made Carlos’ heart hurt.

“You have lives to save.”

Carlos nods. “I know.” He kisses the center of Cecil’s palm. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Be safe.”

“I will.” Carlos promises, turning the oven off and taking the pan out. “You can eat if you want. It’s wheat free.” He says, kissing him once more before moving into the bedroom to put his shoes on.

 

Carlos finally gets home around eleven to find Cecil asleep on the couch with _Stark Trek: The Next Generation_ playing quietly in the background. Half a glass of Rosé sits on the coffee table but both the lasagna and the cake are untouched. Cecil’s purple glasses sat crooked on his face and his clothes were rumpled enough for Carlos to assume that he’d been asleep for at least an hour. Carlos quietly sits down the bottle of Arbor Mist-raspberry of course- on the coffee table and kneels down beside the couch. He had to go to three different stores to find it, but he didn’t mind. He brushes back Cecil’s bangs and kisses his forehead. Cecil stirs a little before snapping awake and jerking upright.

“No!” He gasped, making Carlos fall back.

“Cecil?” He asked.

Cecil looked around before his eyes landed on Carlos and him visibly relaxed. “Oh. Carlos. You’re back.” He smiles.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. Just a bad dream is all.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not tonight.” Cecil shudders. “What time is it?”

“Eleven ten.” Carlos picks himself up off of the floor. “I know it hasn’t been the best birthday, but we still have fifty minutes we can salvage.”

“Sorry I fell asleep. I wanted to wait up for you.”

“I don’t mind. It was a cute sight to come home to. I got you something.” Carlos says, handing over the bottle.

“Where did you find this?!? Everyone is sold out!”

“I just got lucky I guess.”

The truth was that he drove two towns over to find it, but Cecil didn’t need to know that.

“Thank you.”

“There’s one more thing.”

“Oh?”

“Wait here.” Carlos instructs, going to his room and getting the box and returning to the couch.

Cecil takes it with a curious expression and opens the box. Nestled in silver tissue paper is the vest that Carlos had ripped when Cecil had gotten shot. It was cleaned and repaired, with a red flannel heart sewn onto the left side, over his heart.

“One of the holes was to big to fix so I improvised with one of my own shirts.” Carlos admits, rubbing the back of his head.

Cecil looks at him, a gentle expression on his face. “I love it.”

Carlos kisses him once. “Happy Birthday Dearheart.”


	6. Chapter 6

Carlos loved his job. It made him feel useful.  He loved helping people. Some days are better than others but does his best to not bring it home with him.  Tonight was important. Tonight marked eight months since he and Cecil started dating. It had only been a short time but it just felt so right.

He straightens his coat and picks up the pager as it goes off. He makes his way to the ambulance bay to find most of the surgeons-minus peds- standing outside. He finds the head of trauma, Rochelle, giving orders to the interns. Carlos pulls gloves on and makes his way over to her.

“What do we got?”

She looks at him, eyes bright. “Silver Flood. And you know what that means?”

There was a chorus of “bleeders!” behind them, from the interns.

“Exactly!”

“Wow. We haven’t had a Silver Flood in six years.”

Rochelle turns to the group of interns. “You guys are lucky. A lot of interns never get to see one of these. So keep your eyes open today and learn lots.”

 There was nodding as the first of the ambulances pulled into the bay.

“Go. Go. Go. Head injuries go straight to MRI. Phillips is waiting for you.” Rochelle has to yell over the pounding rain and the blare of sirens. Carlos pulls open the nearest ambulance door.

“What do we have?”  He asked, checking vitals.

“Josephine Ortiz. Eight four, elliptic. Unsure of head trauma.” The paramedic reports

Carlos thanks her and motioned to the nearest two interns to join him. “Names?” He asked.

“Wagner.”

“Maribell.”

“Great. You are my team today. You report to me. Got that?”

“Yes sir.” The two say in unison.

“Good. Lets go.” Carlos directs the gurney inside and into a spare space. “Wagner, start blood work. I want to know if she has any kind of medicine she may be on.  Maribell, start an IV. I will be right back. I’m going to go grab her chart.”

Carlos crosses the ER, to the wall of charts. He finds Josephine’s and returns. He comes back to find her sitting up and talking with the interns. She looks up and smiles.

“So you’re Cecil’s doctor man.” She says.

Carlos flushes darkly. The interns make a cooing noise.

“You know Cecil?”

“Oh everyone knows Cecil. He spends a lot of time down at the center. But I’m also an old family friend.”

 Carlos opens his mouth to answer but Josephine kept talking.

“He is such a sweet boy.”

“He is amazing.” Carlos nods with a small smile.

“Whoa. He’s so far gone we can’t even see him anymore.” One of the interns-Wagner, Carlos thinks- says.

“I told you.” Josephine smirks.

“So boss, when are you gonna pop the question?” the other intern, Marinell, asks.

“I don’t think that’s any of your business.” Carlos stutters.

Josephine hums. “That means he either has already or is about to.”

Carlos rolls his head back with a groan. He was never going to live this down.

“I wouldn’t worry about it. He really likes you.”

“Is this where you threaten to kill me?”

“I see you’ve met Dana.”

“Yeah. She’s nice but kinda scary.”

“Just wait until you meet Marueen.”

“She works for the FBI. She’s supposed to be scary.”

Carlos smiles and goes to answer when Rochelle ran by. “Mendez, with me! I need your help!” She yells. Her scrub cap was a little crooked from trying to contain the poofy red curls while running.

“I’ll be back to check on you as soon as I can.” Carlos promises, running after Rochelle.

“What happened?” Carlos asked, tying his scrub cap in place. It was purple with black cats on it. Cecil had gotten it for him, trying to be funny. Carlos loved it.

“My patient has a brain bleed and his lungs are full of fluid. I paged general but you are our best neuro so here we are.”

 Carlos looks into the OR at the man on the table and nods. “Lets save a life.”

\-----.-----

The surgery was long but successful. He was breathing normal now, but would have to be kept for observation. Just in case.

Carlos leans against the sink and lets out a laugh. “Nothing beats the rush of emergency surgery.”

“Nothing beats the rush of surgery in general.” Rochelle comments, pulling her cap off.

“Ah you do have a point.” Carlos nods in agreement.

“Hey Carlos?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s midnight.”

“Yes it is.”

“We didn’t loose any old people today.”

Carlos looks at her. “Successful Silver Flood?”

“Successful Silver Flood “ she confirmed. “You wanna break the news?”

“Go gather everyone in the lobby.” Carlos grins.

Rochelle nods and leaves the wash room. Carlos follows, stepping outside for a breath of fresh air. The rain had let up.

“Excuse me.” A female voice calls, making Carlos turn. His blood ran cold. This girl was a carbon copy of the girl who changed his entire medical career.

“Are you Carlos Mendez?”

Carlos, still shocked, gives a little nod.

“Oh thank God.” She whispers. “My name is Ami Marie Storm. My mother was-“

“Crystal.” Carlos whispers.

“You saved my life seventeen years ago.” She pauses. “Can I hug you?”

“Ye-yeah.” Carlos smiles widely and hugs her. “How are you?”

“I’m going to be a doctor. Like you.” She announces

“if you want, when you start your internship, you have a guaranteed spot here.”

Her face lights up. “I would love to study under you. You have no idea how honored this makes me.”

“I have something for you.”

“You do?”

“I do.” Carlos confirmed, pulling his wallet out of his lab coat's pocket. He pulls out a folded piece of yellowed paper. “Your mother made me promise that if I ever met you, that’d I’d it to you. She said she was already so proud of you and she hadn’t even met you yet.”

 Ami takes the paper and carefully unfolds it, reading the words that Carlos himself had memorized. She looks back of him with wet eyes before hugging him again.

“Thank you.” She whispers.

“I’ll see you in eight years. But don’t hesitate to call if you need anything. Alright?”

She nods. “Yessir. Now you need to go rest. You look dead on your feet.”

Carlos chuckles. “I am. Have a good night.”

She waves as Carlos made his way back into the hospital to address the crowd of exhausted doctors and interns.

“It’s been a long day.” He starts, receiving murmurs of agreement and a “yeah no shit” from the crowd. There was a scattering of tired laughter. “But I am proud of all of you. A Silver Flood isn’t an easy thing to pull off, especially in a large city like Quantico. But we did it. We didn’t loose a single person today.”

The room was quiet before clapping broke out and cheering. Carlos lets them celebrate for a moment before quieting them down.

“Go home and get a good night’s sleep. You all deserve it.”

There were nods of agreement as the crowd broke up. Carlos leans om the railing and watches, pulling out his phone. He dials Cecil’s number, unsure if he was even awake.

_“Hello?”_

“Hey Ceec. Did I wake you up?”

_“Oh no. I just got home. What’s up?”_

“Can I come over?”

_“I would love that.”_

“I’m on my way.”

\-----.-----

Cecil answers the door, wearing an oversized t-shirt that was Carlos’ at one point and purple and orange stripped leggings. The only indication of him just getting home from work was his hair was still up. Carlos smiles at the sight, feeling as if his heart would burst. He leans forward and kisses the taller man deeply, pulling him close.

“um..not that I’m complaining, but what brought this on?” Cecil asked, making a squeak of surprise when Carlos nips at his bottom lip.

Carlos then pulls away. “We need to talk.”

Cecil’s face fell.

“No no. It’s good. I promise.”

“inside?”

“Yeah. Inside would be best.”

Cecil stepped aside to let Carlos in before shutting the door.

“Cecil, I was thinking about……”


	7. Chapter 7

_Cecil? I was thinking about the series of ongoing actions that we perceive as the present, and the amassing of memories that we treat as the living record of the past and the hopes and dreams and assumptions that we project as the future. I was thinking about time. And about how it means something to so many people, and about how it’s so finite, and also so infinite._

_I was also thinking about space. About how it is nothing, and then, a point which is just a single spot within the nothing, and a line which separates the nothing into two nothings, and how a plane is a patch of nothing and an angle just where two nothings meet, but all those things combined, with an object of points, lines, planes, and angles, an object with length and width and depth that can take up actual space. Until that object becomes_ **_something_ ** _made of nothing – within nothing._

_An object can be a wall, a floor, a roof, a bed, a table, a dog, a door, a rug, a…a home._

_And then, I thought about how a home is just a group of objects connected by a shared personal experience of time – our past, our present, our assumed future. A home is…I mean, uh, scientifically speaking, speaking form the point of view of mere facts and logic, and um…hmm. You know, what with science, and all…uhhh, I– I– I just thought it was…time for us to…make a home together._

Cecil looks down at the simple but elegant band on his finger. It was shiny and kept distracting him. Every time he saw it, he would smile widely. Dana told him he was a dork and he just shrugs, telling her she was likely the same way when she first got engaged.

 

“You said ‘neat’? Man, you really are a disaster, aren’t you?” Dana shakes her head. “It’s a good thing you’re pretty.”

Cecil crosses his arms in a mock pout. “You should be nice to me.”

“Why would I want to do that?” Dana snorts with a laugh.

“Because the best man shouldn’t bully the groom. It’s rude.” Cecil says with a smirk.

“Yeah well-wait, excuse me?” Dana blanches, turning back to look at him.

“If you want of course. I won’t force you to- “

“Cecil.” Dana interrupts his rambling.

“-I just doesn’t have many close friends and I figured that you were a natural choice and- “

“Cecil!” Dana says again. “Can you stop talking for like two seconds?”

“I make no promises.” Cecil answers and smiles.

Dana rolls her eyes but hugs him. “I’d be honored to be your best man.”

“You mean it?”

“No.” Dana says bluntly.

Cecil’s face fell. “Wh- “

“Yes, of course I mean it your big dope.”

“You need to work on how you accept stuff like that.” Cecil says, once she had let go and stepped back. “Because some people don’t get your sarcasm.”

“Only you dear.” Dana laughs and pats his shoulder. “Come on. Lauren wants you to go the park. An interview is waiting for you there. Apparently, whoever refused to give the story to anyone else.”

Cecil hummed and nodded. “Let’s get our people together then.” He says, setting the file he was holding in a drawer on his desk before closing it with his hip. “Before I get sent somewhere crazy again.” He makes a face and sighs a little.

“I wish you were here earlier when she got that call. She was fuming. I’ve never seen here that pissed.” Dana giggled. “Well except when you came back after getting shot but she’s just a bitch.”

“Careful. Talking about her summons her.” Another intern from across the room, named Alex says. “No one wants that.”

Cecil chuckles softly. “Yeah. True. Come on Dana. Now’s our chance to escape.”

They gather a camera crew and piled into a van before heading to the park. They made small talk, mostly teasing Cecil about his not so subtle giddiness. Cecil huffed in mock annoyance and parked the car.

“You people make me want to drink.”

“Cecil, you get drunk after like two drinks. That statement doesn’t really hold up.” One of the cameramen, Daniel, says.

“I don’t have to deal with this abuse!” Cecil throws his hands up and gets out.

“Aw Ceec, don’t be a prude.” Dana cackles.

“I am not a prude.” Cecil grumbled.

“So, who exactly are we meeting anyway?” Dana asks, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. Daniel climbs out of the van and begins to set up his camera and equipment.

“I’m not sure. I wasn’t told- “

“Excuse me, are you Cecil? Carlos’ Cecil?” A young feminine voice asks, making Cecil turn.

The girl was young, no older than seventeen. She had strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

“I take it you are who I am meeting?”

“Yes sir. Carlos said you’d be best to speak with because he, and I quote, ‘the most honest, likeable man you will ever meet. With a voice you could drown in.’ Honestly, he’s a bit mushy but he’s adorable so I let it slide.”

Cecil blushes brightly and Dana just shakes her head.

“They are hopeless.” She says before letting out a loud sigh. The girl just laughs and holds out her hand.

“My name is Ami. Your, ah, I mean, Dr. Mendez told me you are the best person to tell my story to.”

“Let’s get started then, shall we?”

“Ask away.”

 

Cecil felt himself at easily relaxing. Ami was easy to talk to. She was full of energy and life and dreams. She reminded Cecil of himself when he was younger.

“I actually didn’t find out about the Foundation until two years ago and then I had to research it a bit. He made me realize that this world isn’t all bad. It’s…. nice. I think when I’m old enough, I want to get involved in the Foundation. I want to be a part of something amazing.” She had explained. “I want to be just like him. Carlos.” She finished.

“Thank you.” Cecil says, as his phone starts to go off. He knew that ringtone and decided to ignore it for now. “For sharing your story with me.”

“I think the world needs to know that women have options. That it’s okay to not know what to do. That there is help out there. They just need to know where to look.”

It was then that Dana joins them. “Hey, you do know that the Ice Queen is calling you right?”

“I do indeed.”

“Well now she’s calling me so answer her because I don’t want to deal with that.”

Cecil sighs and turns to Ami once more. “It was really nice to meet you Miss Storm. You have a bright future ahead of you. I hope to hear about it.”

“You as well Mr. Palmer. Be safe.”

“I’ll do my best.” That was an honest statement.

“Goodbye for now.” She waves and turns, heading towards the library.

Cecil groans aloud as his phone rings again. He pulls it out and answers it.

“Ma’am.” He said, careful to not portray any emotions.

“It’s about time.”

“I apologize. I was working.”

“You are to answer me when I call you.”

Cecil puffs his cheeks out to avoid shooting off at the mouth. “How can I help you Ms. Mallard?” He asked instead.

“There was a drug bust down town that I want you to go check out.”

Cecil hated downtown. He always felt unsafe there. It gave him bad vibes, and it didn’t help that it was pretty shady.

“But I- “

“Don’t argue Cecil.”

“Yes ma’am.” Cecil sighs. “Anything else?”

Watch out for guns. I don’t want a repeat of last time.”

Cecil tightens his jaw, forcing back the panic attack that was rising. He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. “Yes ma’am.”

There was a click at the end of the call and then silence. Cecil lowers the phone with shaking hands and leans against a tree, closing his eyes. He stays still for a good five minutes or so before opening his eyes.

“We have to go downtown.”

“Cecil you hate downtown.” Dana says with a confused expression.

“Duty calls dear.”

“That crazy bi- “

“Let’s just go so we can get home.” Cecil says, wrapping his arms around himself.

`````.`````

Khoshekh howling at the window let Carlos know that Cecil was home. He was later than usual and hadn’t called, and its worried Carlos a bit. He knew a thing or two about unpredictable schedules, but that didn’t keep him from worrying. He knew how dangerous Cecil’s job was. He makes his way from the study to the front door, unlocking it and opening it to greet the other man just to have his heart drop to his stomach. Cecil’s face was pale, and he had a red spot on his cheek His normally tidy clothes were wrinkled and untucked. Before Carlos could speak, Cecil collapsed into his arms, hugging him tightly.

“What happened to you Querido Corazon?” Carlos asked softly.

Cecil just tightens his hold on Carlos’ shirt, shaking like a chihuahua.

“I’m going to move you inside okay?” Carlos says. Cecil makes a noise of which Carlos assumes is agreement because he takes a step back but doesn’t let go of Carlos’ shirt. Carlos moves slowly inside, closing and locking the door once more before guiding Cecil to the couch and sitting him down.

“What happened?” Carlos asks again. “Are you hurt? Did Lauren do this?”

Cecil shakes his head. “I had…I had to do a report down town, a drug bust. But when I was leaving and making my way back to the car, I was….” He drew a sharp breath and his voice cracked. “They stole my ring.” He manages to get out before breaking down. “I tried to get it back. I did I promise! Please don’t be mad.” He brings his hands up, gripping his now undone hair and pulling at it.

Carlos feels his heart break at the scene in front of him. He puts his hands over Cecil’s. “Hey.” He whispers. “It’s okay. I’m not mad at you. I promise. You did nothing wrong. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“I’ll pay you back! I promise. Please don’t leave me.” Cecil begs.

“Cecil, I promise I’m not going anywhere. I will never leave you.”

Cecil didn’t seem to be registering anything. His eyes clouded over. Shit. Carlos knew what that meant.

“Cecil. Look at me.” He begs. “Please.”

Cecil shrinks away. “What are you doing here Tyler? Where-where’s Carlos? I want Carlos. Leave me alone.”

“Cecil, Tyler can’t hurt you anymore. I promise.” He could hear the desperation in his own voice.

“Get away from me!”

“Hey.” Carlos says softly. “One look at you, my whole life falls in line. I prayed for you before I called you mine.” He sings softly. Cecil was still shaking now, but his breathing wasn’t as harsh anymore. Carlos goes on. “Oh, I can’t believe it’s true sometimes. Oh, I can’t believe it’s true. I get to love you. It’s the best thing that I’ll ever go. I get to love you. It’s a promise I’m making to you. Whatever may come, your heart I will choose- “

“Forever I’m yours, forever I do.” Came Cecil’s whisper. He was still clouded over but the response was a good sign.

“I get to love you. I get to love you. The way you love, it changes who I am. I am undone. I thank god once again.”

“Oh, I can’t believe it’s true sometimes….” Cecil takes a breath. “Carlos?”

“Yes, my love, my light?” Carlos meets Cecil’s eyes.

“I’m sorry. I did it, again didn’t I?”

“It’s okay. I don’t blame you.”

Cecil is quiet for a minute. “He did this to me. He is the one that attacked me today. He said- “Cecil shudders. “That we still had a spark.”

Carlos tightens his jaw. Then his grip around Cecil tightens a little. “I’m so sorry.” He says, pressing a kiss just below Cecil’s right eye. “I should have been there.”

Cecil lets out a watery laugh. “You were at work your dork. And if you were there, I would get nothing done because I’d keep staring at you.”

“Maybe you should carry a sword.” Carlos teases.

Then came a howl from down the hall.

“I think someone demands attention.” Carlos chuckles.

“He can wait. Right now, I want you.” Cecil murmurs, looking up. “Take me to bed? Make me forget him.”

“I can do that.” Carlos says, standing and offering a hand to help Cecil up. He then slowly walks backwards, towards the bedroom, closing Khoshekh out.


	8. Chapter 8

Carlos didn’t sleep much that night. He couldn’t. He stayed awake, watching Cecil sleep beside him. He knew Cecil was a vivid dreamer. Carlos had found that out when he woke up with a pale arm across his face that wasn’t his and Cecil was mumbling French beside him. It made for an interesting first morning after.

Now, Cecil was curled up on his side, arms wrapped tightly around himself. Carlos lays beside him, entwining their fingers together. He made a vow to himself to keep Cecil safe, even if it killed him.

The pull of sleep finally won at three thirty and Carlos gave in. His sleep was light and dreamless, but he did wake up when Cecil shoved him off the bed. He hit the ground with a thud before jerking awake. He sits up, rubbing his head. “Cecil?”

He peeks up over the edge of the bed to find Cecil sitting with the blanket draped over his head and sporting a sheepish smile. “Good morning. Why are you on the floor?”

Carlos raises an eyebrow and stands, stretching and making his joints pop. “Yes. I do wonder why that is.” He says, shaking his head with a smile and sitting on the edge of the bed. He leans over and goes for a kiss but stops halfway, not wanting to scare him again after last night.

Cecil lets out a giggle and leans over, meeting their lips together. He presses against Carlos with a hum as he leans his head back with a giggle. Carlos wraps his arms around the small of Cecil’s back and kisses him once more.

“Hello there.”

“Hello Carooos.” Cecil drawls in a way drove Carlos crazy.

Carlos groans, rolling his head back. “Cecil, if you keep talking like that, I’m going to be late for work.”

“Doctors are never on time anyway. At least not in my experience.” Cecil muses with a smirk. He stretches, arching his back like a cat.

“Now that’s just rude.” Carlos scolds, smacking Cecil’s back playfully.

“Rude but not untrue. My job is to report on the truth, is it not?” Cecil purrs. He leans his head to the side, making his tangled hair fall to side. “I’ve been told I’m very good with my mouth.”

“I see.” Carlos hummed before rolling them over. Cecil yelps in surprise, falling flat against the bed. The blanket hits the floor with a rustle of fabric. Carlos just chuckles. “You should wear my clothes more often. They look good on you.”

He is referring to the red flannel Cecil had slept in. It hung a little on Cecil’s smaller frame but looked amazing in Carlos’ opinion.

“If I did that, you’d be tripping over yourself all day and getting nothing done.” Cecil points out.

“Maybe so.” Carlos agrees, leaning down and kissing him deeply. His eyes close as he feels Cecil reach up and bury his fingers in the mess of dark curls. Carlos lets out a moan as Cecil’s hand slips from his hair to tighten in the fabric of his shirt. Carlos breaks the kiss but doesn’t pulls away. “Ceec, I have to get ready for work.”

Cecil tightens his hold. “Shower at work.” He protests. “You’re warm and I’m cold.” He moved his free hand down and stuck it under Carlos’ shirt. “I don’t want you to go yet.”

Carlos’ eyes go wide. “Holy shit!”

“I told you.”

Carlos squints down at his lover and smirks before sitting up and reaching for his glasses. “I have something for you.”

“Oh?” Cecil propped himself up on his elbow, reaching for his own glasses.

“I know that your ring is…. missing. So, I found my class ring. It needs resized and I know it’s not much but until I can get another one, I was thinking- “

“Carlos?”

“-this one. “Carlos stops talking and looks up. “Yes?”

“I would love to wear your class ring.”

“Well then, in that case, Cecil Gershwin Palmer, will you marry me?”

“My answer was and still is yes.” Cecil beams, taking ahold of Carlos’ shirt once more and pulling him close. He kisses him deeply, nipping at his bottom lip. Carlos takes the cue and opens his mouth, He lets out a soft sigh as he feels Cecil’s tongue slip past his lips. Carlos pulls Cecil onto his lap and rolls his hips up once before breaking the kiss. “Cecil, I really have to go or I’m going to be late.”

Cecil wines, hugging him tightly.

Carlos chuckles softly. “I mean it this time. I have to go.”

“But- “

“I promise I’ll make it up to you tonight.”

Cecil huffs and climbs off of Carlos’s lap.

“I love you.” Carlos kisses his cheek.

“Oh, I’m sure.” But Cecil cracked a smile.

“I’ll see you tonight.”

“Yes sir.” Carlos smiles and kiss Cecil one last time, on the cheek before changing quickly and heading to work.

\-----.-----

‘The club is busy tonight’ he thinks, making his way down from the stage after his set. He looks around the crowded floor. He looks for his usual. It was Friday, meaning he would get paid well tonight. He gets flagged down and smiles. So, the night begins.

He saunters over to the man sitting in the dark corner. He knew exactly what the man was doing. Adding the air of mystery.

“Hello their Kitten.  How may I satisfy you tonight?” He purrs, dropping gracefully onto the seat beside the man in the shadows.

“Come now, Sunshine, you know exactly what I want. My tastes haven’t changed.” Said a voice that made his blood run cold.

“What are you doing here?” He demands. He tries to get up, but he is held down by the man’s arm.

“I’m just a paying customer here for the services offered.” The man drawled. “And you remember the last time you tried to refuse a service?” He ran his finger along the scar that peeked out from under the short yellow shorts. The stripper shudders and lets out a soft whimper.

“I see you do remember.” The man pulls his hand away. “Shall we?”

He nods and stands on shaky legs. He forces himself to slip back into the persona of Sunshine, the always happy, always smiling stripper. He was known for his good mood. If he does as is expected of him, he would be safe.

“Of course, Kitten. Right this way.” Sunshine drawled, extending a hand and forcing himself to meet the man’s eyes.

Those eyes were burned into Sunshine’s memory.  They were a steal grey and paired with the platinum hair, he looked like an ice warlock. Sunshine lead him to a backroom. Once in the room, Sunshine drops the man’s hand and closes the door.

“Since you are a repeat, you know the rules. Three songs in an order, sixty dollars a pop. No touching below the waist.”

“Of course, sugar.”

Sunshine flips on the stereo and begins his dance. The first dance didn’t involve any touching at all, just Sunshine rolls his hips, circling the pole in the middle of the room. He slides down, easily dropping into the splits before picking himself back up. He circles the pole once more before the slow sensual beat drops. Hooking one leg around the pole, he pulls himself up, hanging upside down for a minute. The dance was full of twists and flips and spins. The glitter in Sunshine’s hair got everywhere but he didn’t care. When the song finally ends, Sunshine carefully climbs down from the pole and crosses the room to take a drink before the next song. Setting down the bottle of water, Sunshine stalks across the room and stands in front of the man. He climbs onto the man’s lap with an anxious feeling in his stomach.

“Remember the rules.”

“Of course, darling.” He purrs as Sunshine begins to move to the beat of the song.

Sunshine fought the urge to roll his eyes as he grinds his hips down, the forced smile plastered on his face. The man brings his hands up, resting them on the clef of Sunshine’s ass. Sunshine stops abruptly. “Above the waist.” He growls, taking ahold of the man’s arms and moving them off his body.

“Oh, my mistake.” The man purrs, putting his hand on the small of Sunshine’s back, pushing the boundaries as far as he could.

“I’m sure. “Sunshine retorts, keeping his tone light but his words dripped with venom.

“I get the feeling you don’t like me much.”

“Gee I wonder why that is? Maybe it’s because _you hurt my brother_.”

“Speaking of him, I saw him the other day. Got this pretty little gem off of him.” The man pulls a chain from under his shirt. On the chain was an elegant and very old silver ring. Sunshine recognized the band instantly. He stops moving again and tries to climb off but is held in place by the man’s tight grip. “The song isn’t over, Sunspot.”

“Sun _shine._ Now let me go!” Sunshine begins to squirm in the hold, desperate to get free. “That does not belong to you.”

“I will get my money’s worth you whore.”

Before he knew what was happening, Sunshine brought his hand back and slapped him. It was loud and surprised even Sunshine himself. He shrinks back the best he could.

“I’m-I’m so sorry.” His eyes are wide, and he starts to shake with fear. One of the biggest rules was to not strike the patrons under any circumstances.

“You bitch!” The man growls. He backhands Sunshine, making the dancer cry out and fall onto the floor. He tries to get up but is kicked back down. He brings his arms up to protect his face but that leaves his torso vulnerable. He is kicked in the chest twice before he hears a pocket knife flipping open. Sunshine felt true fear for the first time in two years.  He closes his eyes and waits for the cut that ended his life. He felt the cold metal on his arm and then there was pain. It was down his arm. Then he was kicked in the face again. He felt a crack and cried out in pain. He was bleeding from both his arm and his nose.  He hears the dull click of metal and then retreating footsteps. He doesn’t react. Just closes his eyes and embraces the blackness.

The next hour or so passed in a blur. Sunshine had woken to find the money he was owed and the ring next to him. He gathered them up and made his way to the hospital. The nurse at the desk asked for his name and without thinking, he told her his name is Sunshine. She asked for his legal name but before he could answer, a familiar voice asked,

“ _Kevin?_ ”

Kevin turns his head and nearly wept with relief. “Carlos. Thank god. I need help. I need stitches and I think-I think- “He wheezes and groans in pain. “I think my ribs are bruised.” He leans against the desk to keep from passing out. He vaguely hears Carlos telling the nurse-he catches that her name is Parker- to call Cecil and tell him that it was an emergency. Then he wraps himself around Kevin and begins to walk slowly.

“Let’s get you to a room and get you cleaned up so I can fix you up.”

Kevin just nods, letting himself be guided. He felt horribly exposed in his outfit of short shorts and a crop top, especially in the cold air of the hospital. He gets guided into a room and then sat down.

“This may sting.”

“’s fine. I’ve dealt with worse.”

“Who did this to you?” Carlos asked gently, starting to wet a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol.

Kevin doesn’t meet his eyes. “Tyler Brooks.” He says softly.

He sees the shadow of Carlos’ arm stop moving. “Cecil’s ex Tyler Brooks?”

“I got his ring back.” Kevin says softly, wrapping his uninjured arm around himself. He still doesn’t look up.

“Wait-Kevin, why? Wh-why is he hurting you?” Carlos begins to clean the cut again.

Kevin hisses in pain. “I started stripping to put Cecil through college. He’s always been there for me, so I wanted to help him. He-he started dating Tyler and everything started off fine. Then Tyler found out that I-that I’m a stripper. It’s not like I hide it. I’m not ashamed of my job. He started coming to shows, Requesting one on one dances and the like. He said that if I told Cecil, I’d never see him again. That no one would. He was-he um…very manipulative. He was emotionally abusive. Got angry and drunk a lot.” He pauses and shudders. “He said that he’d beat Cecil within an inch of his life. So, I started to pull the punches. I let him hurt me to keep Cecil safe. Because if he hit me, he promised that he would never raise a hand to Cecil. And he never did.”

“You never went to the cops?”

“I couldn’t-Couldn’t break Cecil’s heart. Its stupid, I know but…I don’t know. One time he brought a knife. He had lost his job.” Kevin shudders and then cries out in pain, sucking in a sharp breath. “That’s how I got this.” He touches the scar on his leg.

Carlos opens his mouth to answer, a gasp from the doorway caught both of their attention. They turn and see Cecil standing there, his face paler than usual. Shit. Kevin felt his heart drop.

“Ceec. How much did you- “

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Cecil’s voice cracked.

_Fuck. He heard it all._

“Because I didn’t want you to get hurt.” Kevin doesn’t look away. He is surprised when Cecil crosses the room and hugs him. He is shaking and looked like a scared child.

“I am so so sorry. You could have been killed and it’s my fault because I let my emotions cloud my judgement.”

“Cecil, I would go to hell and back before I let anyone hurt you.”

“He did this to you didn’t he?”

“Oh please. This is far from the worst I’ve experienced.” Kevin shakes his head, but from the look on Cecil’s face, that was the wrong thing to say. “Look, I would gladly do it all again, if I could keep you safe.”

“Okay. I need you to sit very still so I can put the stitches in.”

Kevin bites his lip and nods, looking away.

“Kevin, please please never keep anything like this from me ever again.”

“Cecil- “

“No. I need you to promise me. Right now.”

Kevin hesitates but meets his twin’s eyes and nods. “I promise.”


	9. Chapter 9

After Kevin was stitched up and checked over, he was sent home to rest. Cecil sits in the waiting room waiting for Carlos to come out so they can leave. He wraps his arms around himself, Kevin’s words running through his head. He started down at his returned ring. He didn’t look up when he heard footsteps. He doesn’t look up when he felt someone sit down beside him.

“Hey.” Carlos says softly. “You okay?”

“No. Cecil answers honestly. “I feel dirty.”

“Cecil, he did it to protect you.”

“He shouldn’t have had to!”

“If he hadn’t, you might be dead right now.” Carlos whispers.

Cecil looks away. “I know.” He looks back. “I’m scared. What if he comes after me? Or worse. Goes after you?”

“I’ll kick his ass before I ever let him touch you again. I don’t care if I lose my license.”

“Carlos no. Its not worth it. You’ve worked so hard to be where you are today, and I don’t want to ruin that….”

“Cecil, you are worth loosing everything. I don’t care what it takes to keep you safe. Because I love you.”

“But- “

Carlos leans over and presses a kiss to Cecil’s lips. “You are.”

Cecil sighs a little, knowing that arguing with the other was pointless on this subject. “I love you too.”

“Come on. Let’s get you home. It’s been a long night.”

Cecil just gives a quiet nod and stands, holding out his hand. Carlos takes it and stands, pulling Cecil close and kissing him gently. “We will get through this. Me and you.”

“I hope you’re right.” Cecil nuzzles into the crook of Carlos’ neck. He closes his eyes and exhales softly.

“I am right. You’ll see.”

“Could you maybe stop being cocky and just take me home?”

Carlos laughs softly and nods. “Let’s go.” He steps back and takes Cecil’s hand, leading him out the door.

 

The drive home was spent in a comfortable silence. Carlos’ hand rested on Cecil’s knee, rubbing back and forth with his thumb. The warmth and motion were comforting. Cecil let the tension fall from his body and leans back, closing his eyes.

“Carlos?”

“Hm?”

“I don’t tell you enough how much I love you.” Cecil opens his eyes and looks over at his fiancé. “I love you more than anything.”

Carlos glances over. “I love you too. You are the light of my life. My moon. My sun.” He squeezes his hand a little, making Cecil blush.  “What brought this on, may I ask?”

“Listening to Kevin earlier……It made me realize that we have no idea what could happen. We can lose everything in a split second. I want you to know how much I love you. In case something happens to me.” Cecil rubs the back of his neck with one hand. “I want you to know that I love you more than anything. You are amazing. Never forget that.”

Carlos pulls into the driveway and turns off the car before answering. He unbuckles and turns in his seat, facing the other man. “Look at me.” He says gently.

Cecil keeps his eyes glued to his hands, folded in his lap. His eyes dart up in surprise when Carlos hooks two fingers under his chin and tilt his face up.

“Look at me.” He says once again.

Cecil licks his lips and nods a little.

“Cecil, you are more important than anyone on this planet to me. I will go to hell and back to protect you. I would swim a million miles for a glance of your face. I would climb the highest mountain just to hear your voice. Hell, I’d spend ten years in a desert otherworld if it meant I could come home to you.”

Cecil opens his mouth to protest but Carlos put a finger to his lips.

“I’m not done.”

Cecil closes his mouth and Carlos smiles. “I would lay down my life, give up my medical license, walk across broken glass and hot nails barefoot for you. Your safety and happiness are the most important thing to me. You are my whole world. I love you, Mi Alma, Mi Vida, Mi Corazon.”

Carlos moves his finger and presses a kiss to Cecil’s lips. “You are the center of my universe. Never forget that.”

Cecil leans back over for one last kiss. “I’ll do my best.”

“I’ll take it.” Carlos smiles softly. He pulls opens his door. “Let’s get you inside. I know you haven’t eaten yet.”

Cecil follows in suit with a snort. “You’re one to talk, doctor man.”

“Hey. Do as I say and not as I do. That’s our motto at work.”

“If I have to take care of myself, so do you.”

Carlos huffs a little. “Fine. But only cause it’s you.”

“Damn straight.” Cecil nods, taking Carlos’ hand and starting up the walk. Carlos trailed behind him and pulls away long enough to unlock the door.

“Come on. I’ll make you dinner.”

“Nothing big. I don’t really have an appetite.” Cecil says, slipping his shoes off near the door.

“It’s been a long day. You need a good meal.”

“I’m tired.”

“I need you to eat Ceec. Please?”

Cecil quietly follows Carlos to the kitchen. He sits on a bar stool and watches Carlos move around the kitchen, humming to himself. “Tell me about your day?” He asks.

“Well, some interns got in a fist fight. An attending got caught sleeping with a patient. Drama, drama, drama. But I was about to cut out a huge tumor.” Carlos waves his knife a little as he talked, making Cecil chuckle. “It was the size of my fist! But The guy is fine. Really nice guy. Teaches music at the college.”

Cecil slips off the stool and rounds the counter, wrapping his arms around Carlos’ waist and resting his chin on the shorter man’s shoulder. “Mm.”

“It took almost seven hours.”

“It baffles me that you and keep yourself concentrated for that long.”

“Not all of us get distracted by shiny objects.” Carlos teases.

Cecil nips at him. “Not all of us can stab people to life either.”

Carlos turns his head a little. “You are not allowed near knives any more if you keep talking like that.”

“It is essentially what you do, is it not?”

Carlos sighs, then holds up a fork. “Open.”

Cecil obeys, closing his eyes. His lips close around the fork and he hums in satisfaction.  “Chicken…garlic…. lemon grass?” He guesses, opening his eyes.

“You forgot thyme.” Carlos says. “But three out of four is pretty good.”

“Oh no! Look at the thyme!” Cecil cackles loudly.

Carlos just rolls his eyes and hands him a plate of chicken and carrots. “Eat.”

Cecil takes the plate and sits back down on the bar stool. “You have to eat too.”

“I am, I am.” Carlos joined him, leaning against the counter across from where Cecil sat. “See?”

Cecil kept his eyes clued to Carlos’ face until he started to eat, before smiling and starting to eat himself. The meal is shared in the same comfortable silence from the car. It was a moment of understanding. Of love and healing.  Cecil finishes first. He was hungrier than he originally thought. He pushes the plate aside and watches Carlos eat, not even annoyed at how loud his chewing was. It didn’t matter. Not in this moment. Possibly not at all.

+

Two weeks later

+

Cecil blinks awake when Carlos presses a kiss to his forehead.

“Mm... What time is it?” He asked, sitting up and reaching for his glasses.

“It’s eight thirty. You need to get up or you’ll be late. You don’t want to deal with Lauren lecturing you again, do you?” Carlos teases.

Cecil makes a face. “Don’t even joke about that.”

“Well, sooner you get there, sooner you can get home. We have a date tonight.”

Cecil’s face lights up. “Happy Anniversary.”

“And to you. Now get dressed. I’ll drop you off.”

Cecil half rolls off the bed, falling into the floor before heading to the closet. He pulls down the purple dress shirt that Carlos called the purple shirt of sex. He digs out a cream-colored tie and carries them plus a pair of slacks to the bed.  He shrugs out of his sleep clothes and gets dressed, forgoing the vest today. The door opens as he drapes the tie around his neck. Carlos crosses the room and comes to a stop in front of him.

“Let me.” He says.

Cecil drops his hands and tilts his head back. Carlos works quickly, tying the tie perfectly. Cecil looks back down at Carlos, his lips slightly parted. Taking the silent cue, Carlos pulls him close by the tie and kisses him deeply.

“We have to go.” Cecil murmurs.

Carlos gives a soft whine but nods, pulling away. “If we must.”

Carlos nods and heads for the door, stopping only to grab his bag. The coffee shop wasn’t far, so Carlos drops him there, apologizing that he couldn’t come in. Cecil just gives him a kiss and tells him it’s alright.

“I’ll see you tonight.” He says, climbing out.

“I love you.”

“Love you too. Go help some people today.”

 

Cecil strolls into the station with an easy smile. He looks around but sees no Lauren, which is always a plus. He does however, spot Dana near the coffee machine and makes his way over.

“Oh, someone looks dapper.” She teases.

“I have a date tonight.” Cecil blushes a little.

“Like a date date or _a date_?” She asked with a mischievous smirk.

“Dana!” He smacks her arm.

“Oh!” She laughs. “I knew it!”

Before Cecil could answer, the happy atmosphere was sucked from the room with the sharp click of heels. Cecil groans into his coffee and downs it before turning around. He now stood face to face with the person everyone in the station hoped to avoid. Well, not quite face to face, due to Cecil being half a foot taller.

“Ms. Mallard. How may I help you?”

“Bank robbery on fifth. Go cover it.”

Cecil bites back a retort and just nods.

“Oh, and Cecil? Try not to get shot this time. The paperwork is dreadful.”

Cecil could feel Dana boiling behind him and reaches back to put a hand on her arm. This woman isn’t worth it. Cecil held eye contact as he fights back the urge to smack this woman. Lauren just gives a dark smile and walks away. “Take a crew with you!” She calls over her shoulder.

Cecil lets Dana go and takes a deep breath. Dana is still fuming beside him.

“God, I hate that woman.”

“I know Dana.”

“I wish she’d die in a ditch.”

“I know Dana.”

“I am going to do something about it!”

“Dana no.” Cecil looks at her. “Because you don’t know what she’ll do to you. And you’re the only one here that I feel safe around. Plus, you can’t be my best man if you’re in jail.”

“You are lucky I love you Palmer.”

“I know Dana.” Cecil chuckles and hugs her. “I’ll be back soon.”

 

“Hey Mendez!” Rochelle calls from across the attendings lounge. Carlos looks up from the chart he was reading.

“What’s up?”

“Your boyfriend’s on TV!”

Carlos joins her, looking up at the mounted TV.

“ _There appear to be three hostages inside, but no children. The robbers are armed and very dangerous-”_

“God damnit Lauren!” Carlos yells at the screen as Cecil keeps reporting. The news cuts to a woman that Carlos recognized as Dana, Cecil’s best friend.

_“That is the report given an hour ago. Cecil Palmer has now been taken hostage, in exchange for the other hostages. He will only be realized when the demands are met. There is a bomb planted inside. The bomb squad is on its way. We will keep you updated as the situation unfolds.”_

Carlos’ blood ran cold. Then he saw red. This was her fault.

“Carlos, where are you going?”

Carlos faces her. “Think about it. Cecil was in danger of dying exactly a year apart because of his idiot boss. I’m going to confront her.”

“Carlos, don’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t. I’m just going to have a talk. Page me if I’m needed.”

And with that, he was out the door.

 

Carlos finds Lauren sitting in the main room of the station, watching the newscast.

“Lauren.” He says coldly. “We need to talk.”

She turns. “Ah! Mr. Mendez! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Dr. Mendez.” Carlos corrects. “And you need to stop sending Cecil to risk his life.”

“He’s a reporter. He’s doing his job.” She says, with an eerie grin.

“You’re trying to get him killed!”

“If he gets killed in the line of duty, oh well.” She shrugs.

Carlos fought the urge to strangle her right then. She wasn’t worth losing his license over. A loud noise draws Carlos’ attention to the TV. His stomach dropped and his heart nearly stopped. The bank had exploded. Lauren’s face was blank, unreadable. Carlos growls and runs down, pulling his phone to call Rochelle.

 

Cecil wakes yet again, in the hospital. He had a weird sense of deja vu, but at least this time he didn't get shot. He was cold and hot at the same time. His arms were tingly.

“Carlos? “He asked, his voice rough, his throat burning. It was likely damaged due to the explosion.

“I’m here.” Carlos stands and takes his hand.

“I hope this isn’t a yearly thing.” Cecil muses, closing his eyes. A dark bruise was prominent against the tall man’s pale face. “Please don’t smack me this time. I’m not dying.” He smiles a little.

Carlos huffs a laugh. “I’m glad. I couldn’t live without you.” He presses a gently kiss to Cecil’s lips.

+

Lauren crosses her legs as she answered her phone, a scowl on her face.

“You failed. Again. How hard is it to kill one man?” She scoffs. She listens to the excuses starting to come but cuts them off.  “Fine. I’ll do it myself.”

She hangs up and leaves the building, hailing a cab.

“Where to, ma’am?”

“Mercy Eastern Hospital, please.” Lauren answers, her jaw clenched, yet determined.

+

Carlos hadn’t left Cecil’s bedside since he woke up. Cecil wasn’t complaining but the man looked exhausted. He carefully slid over and pats the bed.

“Lay with me?”

He knew there was no way he could convince Carlos to go sleep so maybe this would help.

Carlos quirked a smile. “Is this you trying to trick me into sleeping?”

“Maybe. But I want to be close to you. I almost died today and that means I deserve cuddles.”

Carlos gives a huff of mock annoyance but smiles and climbs into the bed next to him. Cecil immediately folds around him, best he could. He lays his head on Carlos’ chest and looks up.

“I can feel you thinking. What's on your mind?” He asks softly.

Carlos reaches down and entwines their fingers. “Ever since you got shot, I'm always worrying about you.” He pauses and kisses Cecil's knuckle. “And I know that in your line of work, you get sent all kinds of places, but it kills me that I can't protect you.”

Cecil opens his mouth to protest but Carlos goes on.

“But when I see you reporting, I see how happy you are. You have a……. glow about you. It's truly beautiful. Because this is what you're meant to do. I'm not asking you to give up what you love, I'd never, ever, do that. But….” He sighs a little. “The most important thing to me is your safety. And Lauren-”

“I don't trust her Carlos.” Cecil whispers. Cecil's expression broke Carlos’ heart. He was terrified of this woman. Carlos couldn't even begin to imagine what happened inside the bank.

“I think she's trying to kill me, and I think the guys at the bank worked for her.”

“Did they do something to you?” Carlos asked, his brain going through terrible situations.

“Nothing I won't survive.” Cecil says, waving his hand a little. Carlos knew there was more to that statement but didn’t want to pry when Cecil was so vulnerable. ”I've learned to read people. For my job. And I pick up on things. Like how your smile spreads from left to right when you find something funny but right to left when you're excited or joyful.” He pauses, touching Carlos’ cheek. “She hates me. I know that much. But does she hate me enough to kill me?”

“I wish I knew the answer.” Carlos says softly. “But I really don't know.”

Before Cecil reply, Carlos’ pager went off, making Cecil jump and then whimper in pain. Carlos cursed softly and reaches for it, reading the message.

“It's 911. Dammit.” He looks at Cecil. “I can have someone else to handle it-”

“Go.” Cecil says softly with a smile. “I'll be here when you get done. I'm fine. Someone needs you to save them.”

Carlos kisses his lips gently. “I'll be back as soon as I can.”

“I'll be here.”

Cecil nods and lays his head back, closing his eyes. He listens as Carlos leaves the room, relaxing slowly.

He was almost asleep when he heard a distinct click of heels against the tile floor. His eyes snap open and his breath catches in his throat as he sees Lauren standing over him. He starts to tremble at the sight. It was like something out of a nightmare.

“Cecil, you are a very hard man to kill, despite having all the grace of a drunk cat.” She tsked.

Cecil tried to call out, but his voice was shot. The only sound that came out was a dry whisper.

“Looks like you have to shut up for once in your life.” She muses. “I wish I could enjoy it.”

She pulls a small vial from her pocket and holds it up. “Do you know what Batrachotoxin Cecil is?” She asks. She picks up a needle and fills it, holding the needle up to the light. Then she continues. “It's one of the deadliest poisons in the world.”

Reaching over, she yanks out the IV, making Cecil give a cry of pain. She then jabs the needle into his arm, despite him trying to fight her off. His limbs were still shaky from the explosion.

Batting his hand away, she pushes the stopper down.

“First you'll go numb. Then your muscles will deteriorate. Then your heart will fail. Then the rest of your organs. Last is your brain.”

Once the needle was empty, she pulls it out and gives a grin. “Isn't it amazing?”

Cecil gasped, choking.

“Well, I wish I could say it's been fun, but you've been a giant pain in my ass. Good riddance.” She smirks and leaves the room. Cecil barely managed to fumble with the nurse call button before he blacked out.

+.

Carlos paces the waiting room, his mind going through all kinds of situations before one of the other doctors comes out. He stops and gives them a hopeful look.

“Is he okay?”

“He's alive.” The unspoken 'for now’ hung in the air between them.

“What happened?”

“He was dosed with an extremely lethal poison. He is in a medically induced coma to give his body a chance to try and flush it out.”

“Will he be okay?”

“Only time will tell.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suprise I'm not dead! I am innthe process of updating allllllll my fics right now!

Carlos didn't want to leave Cecil's bedside, but he had a job to do. He needed a shower and to check on his patients. He also needs a super strong coffee.

Kevin only left Cecil's bedside to go to work. Cecil's sister Abby had shown up after she got off work, promising that her husband Steve would be by with Janice when she got out of school. Carlos stops and squeezes Kevin's shoulder as he passed. The half asleep dancer gives a small smile before closing his eyes once more. Carlos then drops a kiss on top of Abby's head but the blonde was dead to the world. He gave a small smile before stepping into the hall and closing the door softly behind him. 

 

He heads straight to the locker room and strips down, showering quickly before changing into new scrubs. Then he heads to the cafeteria. He hated their coffee but it didn't feel right to go to Earl's coffee shop without Cecil. With a grimace, he downs most of the coffee before stepping into the elevator. He rids up and steps out into the nurses station, spotting one of his best friends, Alec Stewart leaning against the counter. He looks up as Carlos approaches. 

"Hey Mendez. Heard about Cecil. How's he doing?"

Carlos sighs a little. "No change."

"Oh man. That sucks."

"I don't know what I'm going to do."

"You could give your baby sister a hug." A new voice says behind the pair.

Carlos turns with a gasp. "Dee! What are you doing here?"

"Well I heard about Cecil and I know that you try to carry it all by your lonesome but I won't let you. Not this time. Because this is a big deal."

"Dee-"

"Don't you 'Dee' me. I'm here for you so c'mere." She holds out her arms. "Let your guard down for a minute."

Carlos walks into the hug, holding her close. She hugs him tightly. 

“He’ll be okay.” She murmurs.

“He has to be. Because I don’t know what I’ll do if he’s not.”

“You won’t have to know because he will get better. He’s too stubborn to die and too stubborn to let his bitch of a boss have the last laugh.”

Carlos gives a tiny smile. “You are absolutely right.”

“I know I am. Okay I have to go sleep. I’m exhausted but I had to see you. Can we do dinner later? Tonight maybe?”

Carlos gives a  chuckle and a nod. “I get off at six. I’ll pick you up at six thirty?”

“Fine by me, But no pizza this time. I had it everyday the past week. Perks of being a college student I suppose.” Dee says with a sigh and a yawn. “Okay, I’m gonna go before I pass out right here on the floor.”

“I’ll see you tonight.”

“Don’t be late!” Dee called over her shoulder. 

Carlos watches as Dee disappears into the elevator before turning back to Alec. The peds surgeon raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Carlos asks.

"You didn't tell me your sister got all the looks in your family. You've been holding out on me Mendez." 

Carlos rolls his eyes. “Watch it. That’s my baby sister you’re talking about.”

“You think she’d go out with me?” Alec asked with a raised eyebrow. He pushes off the counter and stretches his arms up over his head.

“You can ask but don’t come crying to me when she rejects you.” Carlos grins. “Oh the new class of interns starts today.”

“New blood! This is going to be fun. Does Rochelle know?”

“If she didn’t last night, I’m sure she does now.” Carlos chuckles and shakes his head. “Come on. They’re waiting and I have patients to check on.” He glances over his shoulder toward Cecil’s room once more before following Alec.

\-----.-----

Lauren drums her fingertips on the shiny top of her desk. The fact that Cecil was comatose and not dead really put a damper on her week. And where was Tyler? This is the second time he's stood her up. He was probably at that club again with that whore. Men, as a whole, were a disappointment. With a sigh, she stands and leaves the office. She pulls out her phone as she walks, dialing Tyler’s number. Voicemail. Damnit. She grips the phone with the urge to throw it. She calls again. Voicemail. Again. This time, she does throw it. The phone hits the wall across the lobby and  clatters to the ground, making interns scatter.Fine. I’ll find him myself.

\-----.-----

Kevin scans the room as he moves across the stage. He wonders if Tyler is here right now. Suppressing a shudder, he drags one hand down his torso as he rolls his hips. Hooking his thumbs under his shorts and leans back against the pole, his eyes still scanning the room. There. In the corner. Tyler was sitting, watching him and sipping idly on what was likely whiskey. Going through the dance muscle memory so he doesn’t really notice as he moves, anxiety spiking. Before he knows what is happening, his hand slips and he’s falling.He hits the ground, back first. He groans softly in pain before forcing himself to go on, switching from the choreographed dance to improve to cover up the fall. He pushes his hips up, climbing up the pole elegantly until he was upright again. Tossing out a flirty smile, Kevin bends at the hips, brushing his fingers through his hair before twisting a lock around his finger. He’s trained to keep his expression happy, hiding the pain. That seemed to work well., No one seemed worried. Near the stage, was a bachelorette party. Maybe that was his salvation. His safety net. When his song ends, he leaves the stage and makes his way over to the group. Just before he gets to the table, an arm around his waist pulls him away. His brain’s first response is that it’s Tyler and fight or flight. Then realizes if he fights, Tyler will hurt him more. 

 

Kevin is pulled gently into a room that he didn’t recognise but was likely a break room of sorts. He looks around in confusion. “W-” He turns and his gaze falls on one of the bartenders. The other man is a little shorter than Kevin himself but muscled enough he can easily take Kevin down without much trouble. His salt and pepper hand was a bit messy, likely due to moving quickly behind the bar. 

Kevin backs away, a new fear filling him. The room was empty except for the two of him and the bartender had shut the door. “I-I’m-”He swallows quickly. “Please ...don't….”

“Woah hey.” The bartender says gently, putting his hands up. “I’m not going to hurt you.” He moved to the sink and gets a glass of water, offering it to Kevin. Kevin slowly takes it, deciding it best to not make this man mad. He sips at the water, not realizing how dehydrated he was until then.

“I should probably explain.” The bartender gives an embarrassed laugh. 

Kevin is quiet, watching him. The room was cold unlike the rest of the club so at this point so Kevin was covered in goosebumps and shivering slightly. 

“I’m Charles, head bartender but that’s...not really important. Um...the reason I pulled you away is because I was worried about you.”

“Why?”

“Because I saw how you looked at that guy in the corner. You were obviously terrified. I’ve also noticed that’s not the first time he’s been in here or how’s he’s treated you.” Charles pauses. “I saw how you looked when you left last week after he…..requested you.” He said ‘requested’ as if it were a question.

“I can take care of myself.” 

“I ...don't doubt that. But I figured if I can save you for one night, I should.”

“I don’t need your help. I can handle bad patrons. He’s not the worst I’ve had.” A lie, but Charles doesn’t need to know that.

“I’m only trying to help.” Charles puts his hands up. 

“It’s the bouncer’s job to keep me safe. Not the bartender’s.” Kevin says flatly, despite being actually grateful to be pulled away. 

“How about the owner’s?” Charles asks with a raised eyebrow. 

Kevin laughs. “Why would the owner care? I’ve never even met the guy.”

Charles chuckles in amusement before opening his wallet and offering a business card. Kevin takes it due to curiosity. That curiosity dies as Kevin reads the card. The color drains from Kevin’s face as he looks back up at the other man. 

“I-I-I’m…” Shit. Panic starts to fill Kevin.Shit. Shit. Shit. “P-please don’t fire me. I need this job. I’m sorry. Please don’t fire me.”

“Kevin.” Charles settles his hands on Kevin’s shoulders. “I’m not going to fire you.”

“You aren’t?”

“No.” Charles laughs softly. “I’m giving you the night off.”

“But....”

“Hm?”

“As much as I’d love to accept, I have to work tonight. My brother is in the hospital and his insurance isn’t the best…”

“Tell you what. Why don’t you go get dressed? I’ll take you to breakfast and comp you for tonight.”

Kevin studies Charles for a moment, suddenly self conscious. “I’m not going to sleep with you.”

Charles laughs again. “I didn’t expect you to.”

Kevin studies him for a moment more. “Alright.” He stands. “I’ll meet you out front?”

“I’ll be there.” Charles nods as Kevin leaves the room. 

 

Kevin steps into the hall and takes a deep breath. That was a terrifying experience. With a sigh, Kevin starts towards the changing room. He’s almost there when he feels a hand slap his backside. Kevin jolts and turns quickly. The hall is empty. Weird…. Shrugging it off, Kevin pushes into the dressing room. He quickly  changes from the pastel yellow short shorts and starts to unwind the thin criss crossing sash wound around his chest and torso. He coils it in his palm and puts both pieces and the pair of gold stilettos in his locker before changing into a pair of old jeans and a soft dark green t-shirt with a honey bee on it. He ran his fingers through his hair, watching the glitter rain to the floor, turning over his hand in front of his face. Well Charles is going to have to deal with it as he didn’t trust the showers here. 

Finally stepping into the hall, Kevin had stuffed what tips he had into his wallet and starts to make his way up front. He is almost there when he feels his backside grabbed again. He turns and catches his assailant that time. He looks up, and up again. Up into Tyler’s face.Tyler wore a smirk as if to say “what are you going to do about it?” along with his usual threat still hanging over head. Kevin presses his lips together, debating if he wants to retort or not. 

“Why are you so dressed down? Hiding the goods?” Tyler stepped forward, forcing Kevin to take a step back “You should dress like the whore you are.”.He reaches for Kevin again but Kevin steps aside and out the door quickly. The door nearly hits Tyler but unfortunately doesn’t.

Once outside, Kevin looks around before finding Charles standing nearby with a cigarette. He turns toward Kevin with a small smile. “Ready?”

Kevin gives a small nod and looks back toward the door. Does he tell Charles what happened? Probably not important. Worse things have happened to him than getting grabbed by some asshold and being called a whore. Clearing his throat, Kevin gives a small smile. “Ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise to touch on the Lauren scene next chapter


End file.
